In The Flesh Erotic Reading Series

In The Flesh was a monthly erotic reading series hosted by Rachel Kramer Bussel in New York City from 2005-2010. Over 300 authors read at the series, including Susie Bright and Zane. Find out more about Rachel and her current book events at rachelkramerbussel.com.

In the Flesh is a monthly reading series held the third Thursday of every month at the
appropriately named Happy Ending Lounge,
and features the city's best erotic writers sharing stories to get you hot and bothered, hosted and
curated by erotic writer/editor Rachel Kramer Bussel
(Best Sex Writing series, Do Not Disturb, Spanked, Dirty Girls, etc.).
From erotic poetry to down and dirty smut, these authors get naked on the page and will make you
lust after them and their words. Themed nights have included True Sex Confessions, Revenge of the
Sex Columnists, GLBT Night, and Comedy Sex. Readers have included Laura Antoniou, Mo Beasley, Susie Bright,
Lily Burana, Jessica Cutler, Stephen Elliott, Martha Garvey, Gael Greene, Andy Horwitz, Debra Hyde,
Maxim Jakubowski, Josh Kilmer-Purcell, Tsaurah Litzky, Suzanne Portnoy, Sofia Quintero, M.J. Rose,
Danyel Smith, Grant Stoddard, Cecilia Tan, Carol Taylor, Veronica Vera, Zane and others. In The Flesh debuted
in October 2005. Contact rachelkramerbussel at gmail.com for bookings, press, or questions.
Click here In The Flesh: Los Angeles.
“…writer and host Rachel Kramer Bussel welcomes eroticism of all stripes, spots and textures to the
Happy Ending lounge on the Lower East Side.,” New York Times UrbanEye newsletter, August 15, 2007
email rachelkramerbussel at gmail.com for booking or other information or interview requests

Monday, August 27, 2007

September 20th, BEST OF In The Flesh, Be There!

Reposting so this is at the top...

Our next In The Flesh on Thursday, September 20th, marks our shiny happy new date, the third THURSDAY (as opposed to Wednesday) of the month, and what better way to celebrate than with such a kickass BEST OF lineup? I'm thrilled. Also, for out-of-towners or those who can't make it, we'll be taping everything and putting it here and on YouTube for posterity. I have vowed to read my kinky gym erotica story "Make Me." As for everyone else, you'll just have to show up and see!

Last time Jessica Cutler read (at True Sex Confessions, April 2006), it was a mob scene. I promise you don't want to miss this!

You’ve heard them read at In The Flesh before, now come back for round two! Audience favorites are welcomed back to the stage to read new material, so whether you caught them the first time around or not, you won’t want to miss this spectacular lineup of people sure to make you laugh, squirm, and get turned on (perhaps all at once!). With Marie Lyn Bernard (This Girl Called Automatic Win), Andrew Boyd (Daily Afflictions), Jessica Cutler (The Washingtonienne), Polly Frost (Deep Inside), Todd Levin (Mo Pitkin’s, The Morning News), Samara O’Shea (For the Love of Letters), hosted by Rachel Kramer Bussel (He’s on Top, She’s on Top, Hide & Seek). Free candy and cupcakes will be served.

In the Flesh is a monthly reading series hosted at the appropriately named Happy Ending Lounge, and features the city's best erotic writers sharing stories to get you hot and bothered, hosted and curated by acclaimed erotic writer and editor Rachel Kramer Bussel. From erotic poetry to down and dirty smut, these authors get naked on the page and will make you lust after them and their words. Since its debut in October 2005, In the Flesh has featured such authors as Laura Antoniou, Andy Mo Beasley, Lily Burana, Jessica Cutler, Stephen Elliott, Valerie Frankel, Polly Frost, Gael Greene, Andy Horwitz, Debra Hyde, Maxim Jakubowski, Emily Scarlet Kramer of CAKE, Josh Kilmer-Purcell, Edith Layton, Logan Levkoff, Suzanne Portnoy, Sofia Quintero, M.J. Rose, Lauren Sanders, Danyel Smith, Grant Stoddard, Cecilia Tan, Carol Taylor, Dana Vachon, Veronica Vera, Susan Wright, and many others. The series has gotten press attention from the New York Times's UrbanEye, Escape (Hong Kong), Flavorpill, Time Out New York, The L Magazine, New York magazine, Philadelphia City Paper, Gothamist, Nerve.com and Wonkette, and has been praised by Dr. Ruth. This is not Amanda Stern’s Happy Ending Reading Series.

Rachel Kramer Bussel is Senior Editor at Penthouse Variations, conducts interviews for Gothamist.com and Mediabistro.com, and wrote the popular Lusty Lady column for The Village Voice. Her erotic stories have been published in over 100 anthologies, including Best American Erotica 2004 and 2006, and she’s edited numerous erotica anthologies, most recently He’s on Top: Erotic Stories of Male Dominance and Female Submission, She’s on Top: Erotic Stories of Female Dominance and Male Submission, Crossdressing: Erotic Stories, Hide & Seek: 21 Tales of Exhibitionism and Voyeurism and Naughty Spanking Stories from A to Z 2. Rachel has also written for AVN, Bust, Cosmo UK, Gothamist, Mediabistro, Metro, New York Post, Punk Planet, San Francisco Chronicle, Time Out New York and Velvetpark. www.rachelkramerbussel.com

Marie "Riese" Lyn Bernard is a half-Jewish, half-Midwestern Farmer's-Daughter freelance aspirant. She blogs at "The L Word Online" and is a Guestbian columnist on OurChart.com. Her work has appeared in The Bigger the Better, the Tighter the Sweater: 21 Funny Women On Beauty, Body Image, and Other Hazards of Being Female, Best Women's Erotica 2005, Best American Erotica 2007, the Lambda Literary Award-winning Erotic Interludes 2: Stolen Moments, Marie Claire magazine, Suspect Thoughts, nerve.com, Clean Sheets, Fresh Off the Vine, Conversely, Desdmona.com, and The Sarah Lawrence Review. She's currently looking to change the world with a gay television show called Living it Out. She's at her best on her blog, This Girl Called Automatic Win, at marielynbernard.blogspot.com. www.marielynbernard.com

Andrew Boyd is the co-founder of the satirical political campaign Billionaires for Bush and author of several ironically serious (or is it seriously ironic?) books: Daily Afflictions: The Agony of Being Connected to Everything in the Universe and Life's Little Deconstruction Book: Self-Help for the Post-Hip, both from W.W.Norton. He's at work on two others, from which he will read tonight. www.andrewboyd.com

Jessica Cutler is best-known as the author of The Washingtonienne, both the blog and novel of the same name, which was published by Hyperion in 2005 and optioned by Sarah Jessica Parker for a television series for HBO. http://www.jessicacutleronline.com

Polly Frost's book Deep Inside: Extreme Erotic Fantasies, was published by Tor in June. She just completely a tour of 10 cities across the country with "Sex Scenes: Erotic and Comic Tales of Hollywood," casting local actors in each city. "Sex Scenes" was co-written with her husband, Ray Sawhill. Together they also co-wrote and produced the erotic sci fi comedy The Fold this year, with director, Matt Lambert.

Todd Levin is a stand-up comedian, a writer, and a severe disappointment to his parents. He performs all over NYC, at venues including The Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, Rififi, Mo Pitkin's, KGB, and Joe's Pub, and has appeared on Comedy Central's Premium Blend and at the 2006 US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen. His writing has been published in Salon, Time Out, Esquire, McSweeney's, The Morning News, RADAR, and The Onion, and he is one of the contributing writers for the upcoming book, Gawker's Guide to Conquering All Media. He is also the proud father of a nine year-old personal web site, tremble.com.

Samara O'Shea has been writing letters since the restless age of seven. She launched LetterLover.net in April 2005 to save the art from extinction. The website led to her first book For the Love of Letters: A 21st-Century Guide to the Art of Letter Writing from the Elegant to the Erotic (HarperCollins, May 2007). Her work has also appeared in Woman's Day, Country Living, All You, and Pittsburgh magazine as well as the online magazines HappenMag.com and Hackwriters.com. She has appeared on Today in New York and on National Public Radio's the Kojo Nnambi Show. www.letterlover.net

Friday, August 24, 2007

November means True Sex Confessions

Because it's been so popular, I'm bringing True Sex Confessions back in November with a stellar lineup of confessors. You'll have the chance to anonymously confess too; I'll read audience confessions aloud in between readers!

True Sex Confessions are back, with a wild mix of memoirists, sex bloggers, and comedy. Audience members will have the chance to anonymously share their own confessions as well. With Anna David (Party Girl), Kimberlee Auerbach (The Devil, The Lovers & Me: My Life in Tarot), Selina Fire (author of the blog The Real Sex in the City), nude model and memoirist Isobella Jade (Almost 5’4”), altporn pioneer Lux Nightmare (Boinkology.com), and comedian Rachael Parenta (Chicks and Giggles). Hosted by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Best Sex Writing 2008, He’s on Top, She’s on Top). Free candy and cupcakes will be served.

In the Flesh is a monthly reading series hosted at the appropriately named Happy Ending Lounge, and features the city's best erotic writers sharing stories to get you hot and bothered, hosted and curated by acclaimed erotic writer and editor Rachel Kramer Bussel. From erotic poetry to down and dirty smut, these authors get naked on the page and will make you lust after them and their words. Since its debut in October 2005, In the Flesh has featured such authors as Laura Antoniou, Mo Beasley, Lily Burana, Jessica Cutler, Stephen Elliott, Valerie Frankel, Polly Frost, Gael Greene, Andy Horwitz, Debra Hyde, Maxim Jakubowski, Emily Scarlet Kramer of CAKE, Josh Kilmer-Purcell, Edith Layton, Logan Levkoff, Suzanne PortnoySofia Quintero, M.J. Rose, Lauren Sanders, Danyel Smith, Grant Stoddard, Cecilia Tan, Carol Taylor, Dana Vachon, Veronica Vera, Susan Wright, and many others. The series has gotten press attention from the New York Times’s UrbanEye, Escape (Hong Kong), Flavorpill, The L Magazine, New York Magazine, Philadelphia City Paper, Time Out New York, Gothamist, Nerve.com and Wonkette, and has been praised by Dr. Ruth. This is not Amanda Stern’s Happy Ending Reading Series.

Rachel Kramer Bussel is Senior Editor at Penthouse Variations, conducts interviews for Gothamist.com and Mediabistro.com, and wrote the popular Lusty Lady column for The Village Voice. Her erotic stories have been published in over 100 anthologies, including Best American Erotica 2004 and 2006, and she’s edited numerous erotica anthologies, most recently Hide & Seek, Crossdressing, He’s on Top: Erotic Stories of Male Dominance and Female Submission, She’s on Top: Erotic Stories of Female Dominance and Male Submission, and the non-fiction collection Best Sex Writing 2008. Rachel has also written for AVN, Bust, Cosmo UK, Gothamist, Mediabistro, Metro, New York Post, Punk Planet, San Francisco Chronicle, Time Out New York and Velvetpark.www.rachelkramerbussel.com

Kimberlee Auerbach is a writer and storyteller who has performed her comedic monologues throughout New York City at venues such as The Original Improv, The Kraine Theater, and The Bitter End. Her one-woman show played to sold-out houses at the New York International Fringe Festival, and she has competed in several Moth GrandSLAM Championships. Her memoir, The Devil, The Lovers & Me: My Life in Tarot, was released by Dutton on August 2, 2007. Get more information or become her friend at www.myspace.com/kimberleeauerbach.www.kimmiland.com

Anna David has written celebrity cover stories, first-person essays, and reported pieces for The New York Times, The LA Times, Vanity Fair, Playboy, Cosmo, Premiere, Parenting, Us Weekly, Razor, Redbook, Self, Details, Stuff, TV Guide, Women’s Health, Teen Vogue, Variety, The New York Post, LA Confidential and Maxim, among others. She’s been quoted in newspapers and magazines across the country. In addition to answering viewers’ sex and relationship questions on G4’s Attack of the Show, Anna appears regularly on Today, Hannity & Colmes and Showbiz Tonight (CNN). She has also been featured on various other shows on Fox, NBC, MSNBC, ESPN, MTV News, CNN, E!, and VH1. An essay of hers appeared in this summer's Dutton anthology Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys and she produced the reality television pilot of her Playboy story "Sex and Two Cities" for TBS. Party Girl, which was released in May, 2007 from HarperCollins, is her first novel. The book is being translated into Russian and Italian and Sony Television has bought the television film rights. Anna's second novel, Kept, is in the process of being sold now.www.annadavid.com

Selina Fire is a lifelong New Yorker whose passion is sex. She is a writer, sex-positive activist and organizer. She writes for Penthouse Forum, and blogs her purely prurient Sex in the City: The Real Version, at selinafire.blogspot.com.

Isobella Jade started off as a muddy sneaker-wearing, upstate Cross Country runner and became a nude model by age nineteen, and then grabbed her bootstraps posing for magazines and ad campaigns such as Conde Nast, Stuff magazine, Women's World, Univision, MTV, Braun Razor and Marshalls, and then became an author regardless of grammar in her memoir Almost 5'4": Confessions of an Unconventional Model, all before she was 25 years old. She has been featured on Gawker, Media Bistro, Mac Life magazine, Page Six, Advertising Age and Yahoo!, and is a wizard of self promotion and yet she is always the girl next door with coffee stained jeans and wobbling in her highest heels no matter the weather, and always gives the homeless singers on the 2 train a dime or dollar when she has one.www.isobelladreams.com

Lux Nightmare has been obsessed with the Internet since 1994, obsessed with computers since 1987, and obsessed with sex since 1982. Career highlights include founding and running That Strange Girl (the first altporn site to feature both male and female models), interning at Nerve (back when it was cool), and keeping the masses educated about sex for the past ten years. She currently serves as editor of Boinkology.com, a blog about sex and culture.www.boinkology.com

Rachael Parenta recorded her cell phone voice mail message in the third person. Some people say that is crazy. However no one has complained about her bio being composed in the 3rd person. Apparently that is perfectly socially acceptable. A number of people have suggested that Ms. Parenta found the courage to challenge social norms at Emerson College where she earned a B.F.A. in Performing Arts. Others feel that’s just the way stand-up comedians, such as Rachael, behave. Who knows? But, the third person seems to work for Rachael Parenta as she has performed her stand-up all over the country, contributed Gawker.com, had several plays produced, and appeared on the Richard Simmons Show in 1983.rparenta.blogspot.com

Sunday, August 19, 2007

An erotic interlude: my new book Crossdressing

Since it's a few weeks until the next In The Flesh, and I have a new book out, I wanted to share a little info about it with you. I have to say, I'm really thrilled about this book and think that even those who are not "into" crossdressing will enjoy (aka get off on) many of the stories here, because as I reread them while proofreading, I realized that they're about discovering who you are, what turns you on, and especially sharing that with someone else. That is something I think we can all relate to and while that doesn't necessarily mean the stories will yank your chain, they will at least give you food for thought.

Crossdressing: Erotic Stories is out now! This is the new/final cover, and below is more info. I'd love to hear what you think of the book. I have to say, totally biased but...it's really HOT!

Here's some more info:

From femmes who channel Marlene Dietrich in the sexiest of suits to men who love nothing more than the feel silky panties stretched tight against their skin, these characters boldly indulge their fantasies of being a girl — or a guy — for a night. Drag queens get dolled up for a night on the town, a dyke packs a special surprise beneath her dress, and a devoted husband puts his dress-up skills to the ultimate test in this seductive new collection.

Crossdressing spans such a wide range of possibilities, erotic and otherwise, that the only thing we can safely say brings the mélange of its practitioners under one umbrella is that they dress (sometimes or all the time) in the clothing of another gender. In an age when gender is becoming increasingly fluid, deconstructed, questioned, and sometimes abandoned, we can begin to see the idea and reality of crossdressing in a new light.

This book focuses on the erotic pleasures of crossdressing, while also touching on the life-changing, mind-melting, earth-shifting experiences that can come from actively playing with one's gender. For some characters, crossdressing means transgressing, transforming, subverting the rules to enter another body in order to enter another world, literally or figuratively. Sometimes it gives them permission to go where they'd be unwanted otherwise. For other characters, playing with their attire lets their minds create the fantasy creature they've always longed to be. It means acting, homecoming, freedom. Sometimes, it's a fun, risqué adventure, a break from the ordinary, a chance to see what might happen if you slipped into a dress or suited up. Would you be the same person? Would you feel the same? Would you get turned on in the same way? These questions and more get tackled in Crossdressing, though the answers are as varied as we are.

When these characters don the clothes of another gender, or another gender role, they find not just their bodies but their minds altered in powerful ways. What was once forbidden is now acceptableæor maybe it's still taboo but even hotter because of it. When they literally step into someone else's shoes, their bodies, minds, and libidos can explore passions they might not dare voice otherwise. Whether it's the bra, panties, and garter tucked away under the charcoal-gray business suit or the bound breasts flattened under a drag king's snazzy attire, clothes, as more than one character here can attest, do "make the man"æor woman, though the person inside those clothes creates his or her power from within as well.

In Stephen Albrow's "More Than Meets the Eye," his businessman protagonist has a secret under his suit that's his private treasure, until he chooses to share it: "My Brooks Brothers shirt is thick enough to cover up my white satin bra and garter belt, but not so thick that I can't feel the garter belt's lace trim as I run my fingertip over my abs. Just knowing this little bit of Suzy is there is enough to calm my nerves." Part of his narrator's delight is in fooling those around him. Yet revealing Suzy to her special lover is a bold thrill that yields untold rewards, and it's this push-pull of discovery and secrecy, of flaunting and hiding, of male and female that makes the story come alive.

These stories are not just about crossing genders but about living with the duality of one within the other, mixed together, mingling—the experience of living as one changing how a person lives as the other. Ashley Laine, the sensual, seductive drag queen narrator of Tulsa Brown's exquisitely rendered "Temporary," reveals the fear that haunts her at being found out: "When his thick fingers began to creep under my panties, I edged away, afraid to ripple the surface of his fantasy." Yet she proceeds, risking rejection for the joy of bringing that duality together into her erotic life. You can feel the shivers Rory delivers to her with the words "Oh, girl"—two simple but powerful words that encapsulate the crux of both Brown's story and this collection as a whole. When these characters--men, women, and those in between or neither at all--are finally able to be recognized for their chosen selves, the thrill goes far beyond the sexual.

Yet sex, desire, lust, and longing are front and center throughout, even as more complex gender dynamics come into play. In Debra Hyde's "Just Like a Boy," we learn that simply turning oneself into a "boy" is not enough for her narrator. She longs to be the boy of her childhood dreams, not "an androgyne in boy's clothes." Yet her venture into male territory isn't only for her but for her lover, Matthias, as well. Hyde draws out the tension in this dominant/submissive relationship, where power gets exerted in twisted, yet intriguing, ways.

The power of uniform gets invoked in Lisabet Sarai's humorous "Beefeater," in which a young British woman mocks familyæand traditionæto dress in the garb of the Yeoman Warders guarding the Tower of London. The secrecy of her mission, combined with the defiant naughtiness of their endeavor, had me rooting for them with all the fervor of anyone who's deliberately disobeyed, half-hoping to get punished.

Crossdressers themselves aren't the only ones here with a tale to tell. In T. Hitman's "Higher and Higher," Pete pretends to be his naughty alter ego, Nate, when he hires Roni, a "dudette" who shows Pete a few tricks as she turns one, worshipping him in ways nobody else ever has. His internal dilemma, caught between sheer arousal and propriety, between who he thinks he should desire and who he actually does, gives us a peek into how those who lust after crossdressers of any variety also struggle to embrace their wants.

In Crossdressing, you'll find men in panties, butches in dresses, girls looking like boys, drag queens, drag kings, and those who can't be tidily summed up by their outer appearance. You'll find men who want to be men, only prettier, and women who don't have penis envy per se, but don't always want to be the little lady. In short, you'll find people across the sexual-orientation spectrum fucking with gender and gender rolesæand simply fucking.

At one point, looking at herself in the mirror, Brown's drag queen says, "Some people might call this a fantasy, but it was my deepest truth." Here you get hot fantasy, fiction, and the kind of truth that really matters, the kind that gets under our skin, under our clothes, under our disguises to a place that speaks to us deep in our erotic souls. Whatever you're wearing right now (or not), I hope you'll join me on this tour across stages real and imagined, where the limits of gender-bending are in the eyes of the beholder.

Some years ago, before the birth of my crossdressing academy, I was invited to a costume party. I was dating a cop from Canada and he'd given me the shirt off his back, so I decided to go as a police officer. I found a pair of navy-blue trousers and wore black leather boots, but I still felt like a lady. It wasn't until I put on a tie that things changed. That skimpy, phallic fabric dangling from my neck caused a physical sensation. I no longer had firm breasts, but a broad chest that swelled with authority. I stood taller, I felt stronger. As if by magic, I, the queen of femininity, felt like a man. And people's response to me was different, too. They gave me more space; they were more reticent and submissive. Before the night was over that visiting policeman felt my long arm of the law in places that certain states still called illegal.

That experience impressed me with the erotic power of crossdressing and to this day remains vivid. Since then, as the dean of Miss Vera's Finishing School for Boys Who Want to Be Girls, I've seen many times over how a tight corset can free the most shy from the confines of their inhibitions, or a lace nightie turn one who is well-armored into a delicious morsel of vulnerability.

When invited by Rachel Kramer Bussel to write the foreword to this book, I was tickled pink. Too often, the art of crossdressing is presented in limited form, stripped of its sexual potential--but potential and limitless options are what crossdressing is really all about. The media will focus on the visual make-over--everyone likes to see the "before and after--as long as the action stays on the surface and doesn't penetrate. How many times have I answered questions about the sexual orientation of my students as "the line between who is gay, straight, bisexual is a very blurry line, especially when you dress up and play with gender"? The eroticism of crossdressing is a subject that needs to be freed from the closet.

Leave it to Rachel, the Lusty Lady herself, to open this door. Rachel champions life with an erotic edge, and she also believes in the power of good writing. The combination is provocative, even subversive, just like crossdressing. In Elizabethan times, "sumptuary laws" were written to keep the masses in check. A man could not wear women's clothes, nor could a woman wear a man's. No one could wear clothing above his or her station, for fear that dressing too fine would give a person fancy ideas. A mingling of the classes could change the face and the figure of society, even lead to revolution. These laws were short-lived because they were impossible to enforce. When it comes to our imaginations and libidos, we humans are just too messy and chaotic. Reader beware, because the stories in this book can shake your status quo, excite you in ways you might not have thought possible, shred your resolve to ribbons. We all have invested our clothes with intangible qualities and they can take possession of us.

Here you will find literary temptations, guidelines for crossing erotic borders, with clothing and props that expose even as they camouflage. What you will not find in these stories are long inventories of outfits with no payoffs. When these characters pack, their purpose is not just to fill up a suitcase.

There are those who may deem this book politically incorrect (to me that's part of its charm). They prefer to keep sex and gender as two separate categories where never the twain shall meet. It is an attempt to make kink more conservative, and transgender more acceptable and less threatening, not only to outsiders but to those who themselves identify as transgender. Some will say, "Crossdressing is not about a different sexual orientation but about a different gender identity." But these stories invite all of us to experience ourselves as transcending gender, in practice or as literary voyeurs. Each one of us has the physical capacity--enough holes, appendages, and extensions--to give and to experience pleasure from any other.

I've always believed in the intimacy of sex, whether the scenario involves those who know each other well or total strangers. Stories such as these that delve into the minds of the players, as well as describe their actions, outfits, and accoutrements, bring us closer together, help us to understand one another, and increase family values--our human family values. We connect with the forces of creation alive within each of us. And we evolve. While you are reading these stories, whether alone or with a lover, if you are inspired to masturbate, as well you might be, enjoy the pleasure of your orgasms and know that by your pleasure you make the world a more enchanting place.

For your homework, why not form a reading group and get together with some friends and explore these texts in depth? Just remember to dress for the occasion.

A Cute IdeaRachel Kramer Bussel

It started out as a cute idea, inspired by my boyfriend Neil's close-to-perfect ass. He was naked, his tall, slim body bending over our dresser, burrowing around to try to find the pair of boxers he was sure was buried deep inside, even though he hadn't done his laundry in weeks, maybe months. We'd reached a détente where I left him alone about the state of his dirty clothes hamper as long as he eventually got, or bought, clothes that wouldn't make me crinkle my nose in alarm. He'd done pretty well over the last few months, though he was nowhere near approximating my weekly clothes wash, and he simply laughed when he found my voluminous collection of sexy, lacy, very delicate, expensive panties, garters, stockings and bras drying in our bathroom.

As I looked at his ass, which is, inarguably, the sexiest part of his rock-hard body (though there was plenty of close competition from his solid chest, strong arms, which he uses to carry me when I'm too tired to walk to the car at night, and, of course, amazing cock), the part I loved to grab, fondle, squeeze, and sometimes spank, an idea came to me. I heard him muttering to himself and knew he was probably out of briefs and even out of boxers, which were a far second in his choice of intimate apparel. "Hey honey, I have an idea. Why don't you put on a pair of my panties? Maybe those new pink ones, with the bows," I said, remembering our devilishly fun time shopping for the sexy pair, which I'd modeled for him in the dressing room.

He'd snuck in when nobody was looking, then been so turned on he couldn't stop staring at me. I had swapped the basic, boring thong I'd been wearing for a pink, lacy, frothy concoction, which featured little bows along the edges that were there purely for decoration. With my shaved, sleek pussy visible through its sheer mesh front (I'd put them on over my little cotton thong), he just had to come a little closer and lick me to orgasm. "I can't resist you in those," Neil had groaned before lunging for me. I giggled quietly but was getting aroused myself. He'd wanted to do it with the panties on, but I'd hissed, "We still have to pay for them!" and so I'd taken them off, he'd feasted on me, pulling aside the thin fabric of the thong to get at my sex, leaving me quaking as I clung to the walls of the booth while a saleswoman pounded on the door. "Miss, you've been in there a long time—we have a line."

"Just a sec," I'd called out, my voice going higher as his tongue plunged deeper. I came, spasming against him, then hurriedly put my clothes back on, walking out with a blush splashed across my cheeks. We'd sheepishly hurried out of the dressing room, and I'd bought that same pair in every color they offered, filling my already overstocked panty drawer to the brim. In fact, my undies took up so much room that some had to go in his drawer, but I knew Neil didn't mind.

He turned to me, though, with a quizzical expression. "What did you just say?" Even though he'd tried to only twist the top half of his body around, I could see his dick bobbing before him. It was hard, and I gasped in anticipation. This was going to be fun.

"Just that if you're having trouble finding your boxers, which you seem to be, I think you'd look really good in one of my new pairs of panties. You know, the ones that made you so horny you had to go down on me in the dressing room. The ones that let you see my pussy through them. What about me? What if I want to see your cock through your panties?" I said, emphasizing the last word and giving it every ounce of humor and taunting it deserved. There's just something about "panties" that makes you long to tease a person who's wearing them, to stare at the outline of them beneath their pants or skirt, to imagine them bunching together between their legs. "Briefs." "Boxers." "Panties." The first two sound solid, secure, upright. The last, silly, a laughingstock, but erotic nonetheless. Now I was determined to see my idea to fruition.

"Here, I'll show you," I said, fishing out the pink pair and moving so I was standing in front of him. I brushed them gently against his cock, watching it respond to the silky-soft fabric. "You're going to look fabulous and totally fuckable."

"Oh, God, Jen," he groaned as he slid into the panties. Perhaps because I'm tall, topping out at just under six feet, and have a sturdy, athletic body even though I'm pretty slim—but let me tell you, those panties fit his body like they were made for him. His hard cock pressed against the sheer fabric in front, outlining it and making it seem even bigger. The little bows, which had been a darling touch on me, looked both incongruous and seductive on his manly frame. The whole thing was ridiculous on one level and ridiculously hot on another. I couldn't really say why, only that once I saw him in my panties, I was hooked. The contrast between the pink, girlish color and his hard, strong cock was striking and all the more alluring because of it. Knowing that the panties turned him on and made him squirm just a little made me happy because I was the one who could tip the balance...

First-timer readers and first-timer authors lose their literary virginity at this very special evening of erotica. Featuring six writers you’ve probably never heard before as they dare to go where they’ve never gone before! Jasmine Clemente (velvetaddiction.com), Colette Gale (Unmasqued), Jane Lockwood (Forbidden Shores), Sean Manseau (Lapdance), Robert W. Cabell (The Hair-Raising Adventures of Jayms Blonde), and Steven Padnick (Roar of Comics blog). Hosted by erotica author and editor Rachel Kramer Bussel (He’s on Top, She’s on Top, Crossdressing, Hide and Seek). Free candy and cupcakes will be served.

In the Flesh is a monthly reading series hosted at the appropriately named Happy Ending Lounge, and features the city's best erotic writers sharing stories to get you hot and bothered, hosted and curated by acclaimed erotic writer and editor Rachel Kramer Bussel. It is now being held every 3rd Thursday of the month. From erotic poetry to down and dirty smut, these authors get naked on the page and will make you lust after them and their words. Since its debut in October 2005, In the Flesh has featured such authors as Laura Antoniou, Mo Beasley, Lily Burana, Jessica Cutler, Stephen Elliott, Valerie Frankel, Polly Frost, Gael Greene, Andy Horwitz, Debra Hyde, Maxim Jakubowski, Emily Scarlet Kramer of CAKE, Josh Kilmer-Purcell, Edith Layton, Logan Levkoff, Suzanne Portnoy, Sofia Quintero, M.J. Rose, Lauren Sanders, Danyel Smith, Grant Stoddard, Cecilia Tan, Carol Taylor, Dana Vachon, Veronica Vera, Susan Wright, and many others. The series has gotten press attention from the New York Times’s UrbanEye newsletter, Escape (Hong Kong), Flavorpill, The L Magazine, New York Magazine, Time Out New York, Philadelphia City Paper, Gothamist, Nerve.com and Wonkette, and has been praised by Dr. Ruth.

Rachel Kramer Bussel is Senior Editor at Penthouse Variations, conducts interviews for Gothamist.com and Mediabistro.com, and wrote the popular Lusty Lady column for The Village Voice. Her erotic stories have been published in over 100 anthologies, including Best American Erotica 2004 and 2006, and she’s edited numerous erotica anthologies, most recently He’s on Top: Erotic Stories of Male Dominance and Female Submission, She’s on Top: Erotic Stories of Female Dominance and Male Submission, Crossdressing: Erotic Stories and Hide and Seek.Rachel has also written for AVN, Bust, Cosmo UK, Gothamist, Huffington Post, Mediabistro, Metro, New York Post, Punk Planet, San Francisco Chronicle, Time Out New York and Velvetpark.www.rachelkramerbussel.com

Robert W. Cabell is the author of The Hair-Raising Adventures of Jayms Blonde: Project Popcorn. Mr. Cabell has spent two decades working in the entertainment industry with giants like Time Warner, HBO, Spelling International, Columbia Pictures, and the New York Post. He has written a book on humor with the legendary Joey Adams, musical comedies like Z-The Masked Musical of Zorro, Pretty Faces, numerous plays, and served as entertainment editor for Shout Magazine.www.jaymsblonde.com

Jasmine Clemente was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and for a brief moment, lived on her native island of Puerto Rico for 6 months when she was 16 years old. Due to her amazing experience, her writing has become seasoned with a light amount of Latin flavor, which means that she often enjoys writing in “Spanglish.” She began her writing career at 9 years old, when she wrote letters to her family complaining about her parents’ divorce, and eventually she began writing seriously when she entered her early twenties. She realized that writing was both therapeutic and nonetheless, she had a natural talent for communication. Now, she writes various profiles and reviews for authors, singers and DJ’s on an urban website titled, www.velvetaddiction.com. Furthermore, she worked as a bookseller for Barnes and Noble Bookstores in 2006 and has attended writing courses at Gotham Writer’s Workshop, www.mediabistro.com and The New School.

Colette Gale is the pseudonym of a historical novelist. She is the author of Unmasqued: An Erotic Novel of the Phantom of the Opera. She lives in the midwest United States with her family and has seen Webber's Phantom of the Opera too many times to count. Colette was always horribly disappointed when Christine ended up choosing Raoul over the Phantom, every single time. She wished just once that Christine would have stayed with Erik! Finally, she became convinced someone had to write about the real reason Christine left the man she loved. And what happened afterward. And so she did. www.colettegale.com

Jane Lockwood is the pen name of a multi-pubbed, award-winning historical romance author who's always been told "you can't do that in a romance" but does it anyway. Originally from England, she's worked as an archaeologist, classical music radio announcer, arts publicist, and editor/bookseller for a small press. She lives near Washington, DC. Forbidden Shores (Signet Eclipse, October 2007) is her first full-length erotic historical romance. She blogs at The Spiced Tea Party. http://thespicedteaparty.blogspot.com

Sean Manseau's stories have appeared in the Scrivener Creative Review, Killing the Buddha, and, in January 2008, the Mirrorstone Books YA anthology Magic in the Mirrorstone. His novel Lapdance will be released in April 2008 by Cyan Books.

Steven Padnick is a writer and editor working in New York City, currently working on his first novel. This is his first work of erotic fiction and his first time reading his work in front of strangers.

Next In The Flesh: BEST OF September 20th (Thursday!)

Our next In The Flesh on Thursday, September 20th, marks our shiny happy new date, the third THURSDAY (as opposed to Wednesday) of the month, and what better way to celebrate than with such a kickass BEST OF lineup? I'm thrilled. Also, for out-of-towners or those who can't make it, we'll be taping everything and putting it here and on YouTube for posterity. I have vowed to read my kinky gym erotica story "Make Me." As for everyone else, you'll just have to show up and see!

Last time Jessica Cutler read (at True Sex Confessions, April 2006), it was a mob scene. I promise you don't want to miss this!

You’ve heard them read at In The Flesh before, now come back for round two! Audience favorites are welcomed back to the stage to read new material, so whether you caught them the first time around or not, you won’t want to miss this spectacular lineup of people sure to make you laugh, squirm, and get turned on (perhaps all at once!). With Marie Lyn Bernard (This Girl Called Automatic Win), Andrew Boyd (Daily Afflictions), Jessica Cutler (The Washingtonienne), Polly Frost (Deep Inside), Todd Levin (Mo Pitkin’s, The Morning News), Samara O’Shea (For the Love of Letters), hosted by Rachel Kramer Bussel (He’s on Top, She’s on Top, Hide & Seek). Free candy and cupcakes will be served.

In the Flesh is a monthly reading series hosted at the appropriately named Happy Ending Lounge, and features the city's best erotic writers sharing stories to get you hot and bothered, hosted and curated by acclaimed erotic writer and editor Rachel Kramer Bussel. From erotic poetry to down and dirty smut, these authors get naked on the page and will make you lust after them and their words. Since its debut in October 2005, In the Flesh has featured such authors as Laura Antoniou, Andy Mo Beasley, Lily Burana, Jessica Cutler, Stephen Elliott, Valerie Frankel, Polly Frost, Gael Greene, Andy Horwitz, Debra Hyde, Maxim Jakubowski, Emily Scarlet Kramer of CAKE, Josh Kilmer-Purcell, Edith Layton, Logan Levkoff, Suzanne Portnoy, Sofia Quintero, M.J. Rose, Lauren Sanders, Danyel Smith, Grant Stoddard, Cecilia Tan, Carol Taylor, Dana Vachon, Veronica Vera, Susan Wright, and many others. The series has gotten press attention from the New York Times's UrbanEye, Escape (Hong Kong), Flavorpill, Time Out New York, The L Magazine, New York magazine, Philadelphia City Paper, Gothamist, Nerve.com and Wonkette, and has been praised by Dr. Ruth. This is not Amanda Stern’s Happy Ending Reading Series.

Rachel Kramer Bussel is Senior Editor at Penthouse Variations, conducts interviews for Gothamist.com and Mediabistro.com, and wrote the popular Lusty Lady column for The Village Voice. Her erotic stories have been published in over 100 anthologies, including Best American Erotica 2004 and 2006, and she’s edited numerous erotica anthologies, most recently He’s on Top: Erotic Stories of Male Dominance and Female Submission, She’s on Top: Erotic Stories of Female Dominance and Male Submission, Crossdressing: Erotic Stories, Hide & Seek: 21 Tales of Exhibitionism and Voyeurism and Naughty Spanking Stories from A to Z 2. Rachel has also written for AVN, Bust, Cosmo UK, Gothamist, Mediabistro, Metro, New York Post, Punk Planet, San Francisco Chronicle, Time Out New York and Velvetpark. www.rachelkramerbussel.com

Marie "Riese" Lyn Bernard is a half-Jewish, half-Midwestern Farmer's-Daughter freelance aspirant. She blogs at "The L Word Online" and is a Guestbian columnist on OurChart.com. Her work has appeared in The Bigger the Better, the Tighter the Sweater: 21 Funny Women On Beauty, Body Image, and Other Hazards of Being Female, Best Women's Erotica 2005, Best American Erotica 2007, the Lambda Literary Award-winning Erotic Interludes 2: Stolen Moments, Marie Claire magazine, Suspect Thoughts, nerve.com, Clean Sheets, Fresh Off the Vine, Conversely, Desdmona.com, and The Sarah Lawrence Review. She's currently looking to change the world with a gay television show called Living it Out. She's at her best on her blog, This Girl Called Automatic Win, at marielynbernard.blogspot.com. www.marielynbernard.com

Andrew Boyd is the co-founder of the satirical political campaign Billionaires for Bush and author of several ironically serious (or is it seriously ironic?) books: Daily Afflictions: The Agony of Being Connected to Everything in the Universe and Life's Little Deconstruction Book: Self-Help for the Post-Hip, both from W.W.Norton. He's at work on two others, from which he will read tonight. www.andrewboyd.com

Jessica Cutler is best-known as the author of The Washingtonienne, both the blog and novel of the same name, which was published by Hyperion in 2005 and optioned by Sarah Jessica Parker for a television series for HBO. http://www.jessicacutleronline.com

Polly Frost's book Deep Inside: Extreme Erotic Fantasies, was published by Tor in June. She just completely a tour of 10 cities across the country with "Sex Scenes: Erotic and Comic Tales of Hollywood," casting local actors in each city. "Sex Scenes" was co-written with her husband, Ray Sawhill. Together they also co-wrote and produced the erotic sci fi comedy The Fold this year, with director, Matt Lambert.

Todd Levin is a stand-up comedian, a writer, and a severe disappointment to his parents. He performs all over NYC, at venues including The Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, Rififi, Mo Pitkin's, KGB, and Joe's Pub, and has appeared on Comedy Central's Premium Blend and at the 2006 US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen. His writing has been published in Salon, Time Out, Esquire, McSweeney's, The Morning News, RADAR, and The Onion, and he is one of the contributing writers for the upcoming book, Gawker's Guide to Conquering All Media. He is also the proud father of a nine year-old personal web site, tremble.com.

Samara O'Shea has been writing letters since the restless age of seven. She launched LetterLover.net in April 2005 to save the art from extinction. The website led to her first book For the Love of Letters: A 21st-Century Guide to the Art of Letter Writing from the Elegant to the Erotic (HarperCollins, May 2007). Her work has also appeared in Woman's Day, Country Living, All You, and Pittsburgh magazine as well as the online magazines HappenMag.com and Hackwriters.com. She has appeared on Today in New York and on National Public Radio's the Kojo Nnambi Show. www.letterlover.net

Another fabulous night!

THANK YOU to everyone who came and packed Happy Ending for a really amazing In The Flesh. We will have photos and video of me, Michelle Herrera Mulligan, and Elisha Miranda coming soon. Everyone did an amazing job and while I was cursing myself for bringing too much stuff as one of my three Duane Reade bags broke on my way to hail a taxi, it was worth it. Thanks also to FreeNYC,NYRemezcla, and New York magazine for listing it. September 20th is BEST OF night. You don't want to miss it. I'll be reading my kinky gym story "Make Me," and in October, at Virgin Night, I'll be reading "A First Time for Everything," this very, very dirty (but of course) bukkake story. If you don't know what that is, look it up, and know that you're in good company along with the protagonist of Warren Ellis's novel Crooked Little Vein (it's a small but amusing plot point).

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Best. Press. Ever. In The Flesh in New York Times's UrbanEye column

This means...get there early! Also means your host is ECSTATIC to have her reading series plugged in the paper of record. I love that they said "Rachel Kramer Bussel welcomes eroticism of all stripes, spots and textures," not only cause it sounds hot, but it's true. I especially enjoy mixing it up, and tonight, with John Blesso's erotic beach memoir (or at least, he'll be reading a sexy part) and the Latina erotica of Juicy Mangos and gay and lesbian erotica from Perry Brass and Catherine Lundoff respectively, and me possibly reading about bukkake (or something just as dirty), you have quote the mix. I have lots of candy, cupcakes, books and games to give away, in addition to all the naughty stories you'll be hearing, and I'm working on a piece for Huffington Post defending erotica from its disparagers. Also, please mark your calendars for our move to Thursday nights starting next month on September 20th with such a wild, awesome lineup I'm sure it'll be standing room only (and we're taping that one!): Marie Lyn Bernard, Andrew Boyd, Jessica Cutler (yes, the one and only), Polly Frost and co. performing from her sexy soap opera, Todd Levin, and Samara O'Shea.

Upset at having to stick around the city on steamy Augustweekends? Live vicariously tonight when John Blesso,author of the memoir “Sharehouse Confidential: Sex,Drugs and the Single Life Inside an Epicurean BeachHouse,”tells all. His reading is part of the In the Flesh series, in which the writer and host Rachel Kramer Bussel welcomes eroticism of all stripes, spotsand textures to the Happy Ending lounge on the Lower East Side. Tonight’s installment also includes Michelle Herrera Mulligan, the editorof “Juicy Mangoes,” a collection of Latina erotica,and Perry Brass, author of “Carnal Sacraments,” billed as “a historical novel of the future.”

From some very juicy mangos to sex on Fire Island and more, August’s In The Flesh dives into the bedroom and beyond with steamy stories from some of New York’s naughtiest (plus a visiting guest from Minneapolis). Featuring John Blesso (Sharehouse Confidential), Perry Brass (Carnal Sacraments), Catherine Lundoff (Crave), Elisha Miranda (The Sista Hood), and Michelle Herrera Mulligan (Juicy Mangos). Hosted by erotic writer and editor Rachel Kramer Bussel (He’s on Top, She’s on Top, Caught Looking). Free candy and cupcakes will be served and authors books will be available for sale.

In the Flesh is a monthly reading series hosted at the appropriately named Happy Ending Lounge, and features the city's best erotic writers sharing stories to get you hot and bothered, hosted and curated by acclaimed erotic writer and editor Rachel Kramer Bussel. From erotic poetry to down and dirty smut, these authors get naked on the page and will make you lust after them and their words. Since its debut in October 2005, In the Flesh has featured such authors as Laura Antoniou, Andy Mo Beasley, Lily Burana, Jessica Cutler, Stephen Elliott, Valerie Frankel, Polly Frost, Gael Greene, Andy Horwitz, Debra Hyde, Maxim Jakubowski, Emily Scarlet Kramer of CAKE, Josh Kilmer-Purcell, Edith Layton, Logan Levkoff, Suzanne Portnoy, Sofia Quintero, M.J. Rose, Lauren Sanders, Danyel Smith, Grant Stoddard, Cecilia Tan, Carol Taylor, Dana Vachon, Veronica Vera, Susan Wright, and many others. The series has gotten press attention from Escape (Hong Kong), Flavorpill, The L Magazine, New York magazine, Philadelphia City Paper, Gothamist, Nerve.com and Wonkette, and has been praised by Dr. Ruth. This is not Amanda Stern’s Happy Ending Reading Series.

Rachel Kramer Bussel is Senior Editor at Penthouse Variations, conducts interviews for Gothamist.com and Mediabistro.com, and wrote the popular Lusty Lady column for The Village Voice. Her erotic stories have been published in over 100 anthologies, including Best American Erotica 2004 and 2006, and she’s edited numerous erotica anthologies, most recently He’s on Top: Erotic Stories of Male dominance and Female Submission, She’s on Top: Erotic Stories of Female Dominance and Male Submission, Caught Looking: Erotic Tales of Voyeurs and Exhibitionists and Naughty Spanking Stories from A to Z 2. Rachel has also written for AVN, Bust, Cosmo UK, Gothamist, Huffington Post, Mediabistro, Metro, New York Post, Punk Planet, San Francisco Chronicle, Time Out New York and Velvetpark.www.rachelkramerbussel.com

John Blesso’s latest book is Sharehouse Confidential: Sex, Drugs and the Single Life Inside an Epicurean Beach House, his comedic memoir of buying and renovating a seven-bedroom beach house to distract him from post-9/11 America. This behind-the-scenes tell-all takes readers on a wild tour of his epicurean playground where a pool of New York City singles dine extravagantly and commingle beneath his communal roof. In 2006, John Blesso was not awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.www.johnblesso.com

Poet/novelist Perry Brass has published 14 books and been a finalist six times in three categories for Lambda Literary Awards. His work has been included in 25 anthologies, including The Penguin Book of Homosexual Verse and The Columbia University Book of Gay Literature. His novel Warlock: A Novel of Possession, won an "Ippy" Award from Independent Publisher Magazine. His novel, The Substance of God: A Spiritual Thriller, a Lammy finalist, asked the question: is our often censored urge toward sex the same urge as our urge toward a higher presence, known as God. His newest novel is Carnal Sacraments: A Historical Novel of the Future, set in 2075, when your lifespan will be determined by your job, privacy will be antiquated, and homosexuality will be permitted but only in its most sanitized and corporatized form. He teaches writing privately. www.perrybrass.com

Catherine Lundoff is the author of two collections of lesbian erotica: Night’s Kiss (Torquere Press, 2005) and Crave: Tales of Love, Lust and Longing (Lethe Press, 2007). Her short fiction has appeared in such collections as Periphery: Erotic Lesbian Futures, Lust for Life, Garden of the Perverse, Amazons, Caught Looking, Best Fantastic Erotica Vol. 1, Stirring Up a Storm and Naughty Spanking Stories from A to Z.www.visi.com/~clundoff/Welcome.html

Under her pen name E-Fierce, Elisha Miranda wrote her debut novel, The Sista Hood: On the Mic. She received her MFA in film from Columbia University. Also an activist, film director, entrepreneur, and writer of television and film, she is the co-founder of Chica Luna Productions, a nonprofit arts company for young women of color, to create quality urban media. In 2006, she launched her multi-media production company, Sister Outsider Entertainment with creative partner, Sofia Quintero where they are developing an edgy Latina Sex and the City sitcom for television. www.elishamiranda.com

Michelle Herrera Mulligan is the editor of Juicy Mangos: The Best Latina Erotica, the first-ever literary collection of Latina erotica in English. The collection of seven novellas was released by Atria Books this July. In 2004, she co-edited Border-Line Personalities: A New Generation of Latinas Dish on Sex, Sass, and Cultural Shifting, an anthology of essays on the contemporary American Latina experience. Michelle is a freelance writer based in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, and her articles have appeared in Time, Woman's Day, and Publisher's Weekly. She is currently working on her first novel.www.myspace.com/juicymangosbook

And Juicy Mangos is out now! Here's some more about it, and Elisha and Michelle will be reading from it:

"Do not read this in bed or your sheets just might catch on fire. It is that hot!"

-- Zane

"Juicy Mangos is an amazingly well done collection of stories...not only a tantalizing read, but a deeply rewarding one as well."

Here, the smartest, sexiest literary writers are gathered to tell stories of women at their rawest and most intimate. Each of the seven stories centers around a holiday -- from Valentine's Day to Christmas -- when these enticing characters slip out of their daily roles and take on new, daring personas: A married woman finds a back door to Eden where fantastical orgies force her to confront her true and dangerous sexual desires, a historiographer experiences a lustful affair while wearing an enchanting antique dress as an erotic disguise, a sex-toy saleswoman takes on a business partner with benefits to boost her sales.

With exotic backdrops around the world and beautiful, complex characters, Juicy Mangos is sexy enough to keep you glued to the page. But like its diverse protagonists, the stories are smart and provocative and will leave you hot long after your touch on the page has cooled.

Monday, August 06, 2007

FREE spanking bracelet (with smutty book purchase or comment!)

Want a FREE spanking bracelet, as pictured here on the arm of blogger Amber Rhea?

Just buy any of my books from Amazon.com and/or leave a comment for any of them on Amazon and then forward the receipt or let me know which comment was yours to rachelkramerbussel at gmail.com along with your mailing address.

I only have about 4 of the red "Spank Me!" ones but a bunch of the "Bend over!" ones. While supplies last, U.S. addresses only. I'll post here when I run out the bracelets.

Authors: get on Booktour.com

For any In The Flesh readers or other published authors, I recommend checking out Booktour.com, a new site that I'm using to promote my upcoming readings. And if you sign up with this URL, you'll help me out as part of a contest they're having for referrers. Why do I like it? It's like an Upcoming, but for books. It's new, and they're quickly adding features. I emailed and asked if they'd add an erotica category, and lo and behold, a few days later they did! It's free, easy to use, and for readers, it's great - they send you an email every week telling you who's reading in your city. And it's co-run by Kevin Smokler, editor of the anthology Bookmark Now, who has pioneered the virtual book tour and clearly knows what he's doing. So sign up at Booktour.com today! (I also heartily recommend listing your events on Upcoming.org, Craigslist, Mediabistro, and in your local websites and newspapers. I try my best to poll In The Flesh readers on how they heard about it, and they come from all over, so every little bit helps.

In The Flesh is MOVING!

Not moving venues, but moving dates. After August, we'll be the 3rd THURSDAY of the month (instead of Wednesday), so September 20th, October 18th, November 15th, December 20th, etc. I'm in the process of updating all my blogs/sites/myspaces/booktour.com so if you see the old dates, THEY'RE WRONG. August will still be August 15th, so this is just a heads up. September 20th is BEST OF In The Flesh and you don't want to miss it!